Access mode-based access control

ABSTRACT

Access control for an access point (e.g., a cell of the access point) may be based on an access mode associated with the access point. For example, depending on the access mode, access control may involve performing a membership check for the access point. Such a membership check may be performed at a network entity, a source access point, or some other suitable location in a network. In some aspects, access control may involve performing a membership check for an access point in conjunction with a context fetch procedure. Such a procedure may be performed, for example, when an access terminal arrives at the access point after experiencing RLF at another access point.

CLAIM OF PRIORITY

This application claims the benefit of and priority to commonly ownedU.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/175,306, filed May 4, 2009,and assigned Attorney Docket No. 092126P1; U.S. Provisional PatentApplication No. 61/175,309, filed May 4, 2009, and assigned AttorneyDocket No. 092130P1; U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/229,680,filed Jul. 29, 2009, and assigned Attorney Docket No. 093044P1, thedisclosure of each of which is hereby incorporated by reference herein.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is related to concurrently filed and commonly ownedU.S. patent application Ser. No. ______, entitled “ACCESS MODE-BASEDACCESS CONTROL,” and assigned Attorney Docket No. 092126U2, thedisclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference herein.

BACKGROUND

1. Field

This application relates generally to communication and morespecifically, but not exclusively, to access control.

2. Introduction

A wireless communication network may be deployed over a definedgeographical area to provide various types of services (e.g., voice,data, multimedia services, etc.) to users within that geographical area.In a typical implementation, access points (e.g., corresponding todifferent cells) are distributed throughout a network to providewireless connectivity for access terminals (e.g., cell phones) that areoperating within the geographical area served by the network.

In general, at a given point in time, the access terminal will be servedby a given one of these access points. As the access terminal roamsthroughout this geographical area, the access terminal may move awayfrom its serving access point and move closer to another access point.In addition, signal conditions within a given cell may change, wherebyan access terminal may be better served by another access point. Inthese cases, to maintain mobility for the access terminal, the accessterminal may be handed-over from its serving access point to the otheraccess point.

As the demand for high-rate and multimedia data services rapidly grows,there lies a challenge to implement efficient and robust communicationsystems with enhanced performance. To supplement conventional networkaccess points (e.g., macro access points), small-coverage access pointsmay be deployed (e.g., installed in a user's home) to provide morerobust indoor wireless coverage or other coverage to mobile units. Suchsmall-coverage access points may be referred to as, for example, femtoaccess points, femto cells, home NodeBs, home eNodeBs, or access pointbase stations. Typically, such small-coverage base stations areconnected to the Internet and the mobile operator's network via a DSLrouter or a cable modem.

A small-coverage access point may support restricted access. Forexample, access at a given access point may be restricted to thoseaccess terminals that are a member of a defined group (e.g., the set ofaccess terminals belonging to the owner of the access point). In somecases, an access point may provide different levels of service todifferent access points. For example, a so-called hybrid access pointmay provide one level of service (e.g., preferred service) for memberaccess terminals and a different level of service for non-member accessterminals. In view of the above, there is a need for effective accesscontrol for these and other types of access points that supportrestricted access.

SUMMARY

A summary of sample aspects of the disclosure follows. In the discussionherein, any reference to the term aspects may refer to one or moreaspects of the disclosure.

The disclosure relates in some aspects to providing access control foran access point (e.g., a cell of the access point) based on an accessmode associated with the access point (e.g., associated with a cell ofthe access point). For example, a closed access mode may indicate thatthe cell is only accessible by a small group of users/mobiles. Or anaccess mode may indicate whether a cell is a hybrid cell that providesdifferent levels of service for member access terminals than it providesfor non-member access terminals.

Depending on the access mode, in some aspects access control may involveperforming a membership check for the cell. Such a membership check maybe performed, for example, at a network entity (e.g., a mobilitymanager) or at a source access point (e.g., at a cell of an access pointthat is currently serving the access terminal).

As an example of a membership check at a network entity, upon receivinga message requesting handover of an access terminal to a target cell,the network entity may determine whether the access terminal is a memberof a subscriber group (e.g., a closed subscriber group) associated withthe target cell. The network entity may then send a handover message tothe target cell, where the message includes an indication of whether theaccess terminal is a member of the subscriber group.

In some aspects, a source access point (e.g., a source cell) may provideaccess mode information that is used for a membership check. Forexample, the source access point may determine an access mode of atarget cell and then send a message to initiate handover of an accessterminal to the target cell. Here, the message may include an indicationof the access mode.

As an example of a membership check at a source access point, the sourceaccess point may determine whether an access terminal is a member of asubscriber group associated with a target cell. The source access pointmay then send a message to initiate handover of the access terminal,where the message includes an indication of whether the access terminalis a member of the subscriber group.

The disclosure relates in some aspects to performing a membership checkafter an access terminal experiences radio link failure (RLF). Forexample, when a cell receives a request from an access terminal toestablish a connection at the cell (e.g. due to the access terminalexperiencing RLF at a source cell), the cell may determine that contextinformation of the access terminal is needed. Consequently, the cell maysend a message requesting the context information. Upon receipt of thismessage, a network entity may determine whether the access terminal is amember of a subscriber group associated with the cell. If so, thenetwork entity may send a message to the source cell requesting thecontext information.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other sample aspects of the disclosure will be described inthe detailed description and the appended claims that follow, and in theaccompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a simplified block diagram of several sample aspects of acommunication system adapted to provide access mode-based accesscontrol;

FIGS. 2 and 3 are a flowchart of several sample aspects of operationsthat may be performed in conjunction with providing a membership checkat a network entity;

FIGS. 4 and 5 are a flowchart of several sample aspects of operationsthat may be performed in conjunction with providing a membership checkat an access point;

FIGS. 6 and 7 are a flowchart of several sample aspects of operationsthat may be performed in conjunction with providing a membership checkat a network entity after an access terminal experiences RLF;

FIG. 8 is a simplified block diagram of several sample aspects ofcomponents that may be employed in communication nodes;

FIG. 9 is a simplified diagram of a wireless communication system;

FIG. 10 is a simplified diagram of a wireless communication systemincluding femto nodes;

FIG. 11 is a simplified diagram illustrating coverage areas for wirelesscommunication;

FIG. 12 is a simplified block diagram of several sample aspects ofcommunication components; and

FIGS. 13-17 are simplified block diagrams of several sample aspects ofapparatuses configured to provide access control as taught herein.

In accordance with common practice the various features illustrated inthe drawings may not be drawn to scale. Accordingly, the dimensions ofthe various features may be arbitrarily expanded or reduced for clarity.In addition, some of the drawings may be simplified for clarity. Thus,the drawings may not depict all of the components of a given apparatus(e.g., device) or method. Finally, like reference numerals may be usedto denote like features throughout the specification and figures.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Various aspects of the disclosure are described below. It should beapparent that the teachings herein may be embodied in a wide variety offorms and that any specific structure, function, or both being disclosedherein is merely representative. Based on the teachings herein oneskilled in the art should appreciate that an aspect disclosed herein maybe implemented independently of any other aspects and that two or moreof these aspects may be combined in various ways. For example, anapparatus may be implemented or a method may be practiced using anynumber of the aspects set forth herein. In addition, such an apparatusmay be implemented or such a method may be practiced using otherstructure, functionality, or structure and functionality in addition toor other than one or more of the aspects set forth herein. Furthermore,an aspect may comprise at least one element of a claim.

FIG. 1 illustrates several nodes of a sample communication system 100(e.g., a portion of a communication network). For illustration purposes,various aspects of the disclosure will be described in the context ofone or more access terminals, access points, and network entities thatcommunicate with one another. It should be appreciated, however, thatthe teachings herein may be applicable to other types of apparatuses orother similar apparatuses that are referenced using other terminology.For example, in various implementations access points may be referred toor implemented as base stations, NodeBs, eNodeBs, Home NodeBs, NomeeNodeBs, cells, and so on, while access terminals may be referred to orimplemented as user equipment, mobiles, and so on.

Access points in the system 100 provide one or more services (e.g.,network connectivity) for one or more wireless terminals (e.g., accessterminal 102) that may be installed within or that may roam throughout acoverage area of the system 100. For example, at various points in timethe access terminal 102 may connect to an access point 104, an accesspoint 106, or some other access point in the system 100 (not shown).Each of the access points may communicate with one or more networkentities (represented, for convenience, by network entity 108) tofacilitate wide area network connectivity. In some implementations, oneor more access points (e.g., home NodeBs or home eNodeBs) maycommunicate with a network entity via an optional gateway 110.

A network entity may take various forms such as, for example, one ormore radio and/or core network entities. Thus, in variousimplementations the network entity may represent functionality such asat least one of: network management (e.g., via an operations,administration, and maintenance (OAM) entity), call control, sessionmanagement, mobility management, gateway functions, interworkingfunctions, or some other suitable network functionality. In someaspects, mobility management relates to: keeping track of the currentlocation of access terminals through the use of tracking areas, locationareas, routing areas, or some other suitable technique; controllingpaging for the access terminals; and providing access control for accessterminals. Also, two of more of these network entities may be co-locatedor distributed within the network.

In accordance with the teachings herein, access control for an accesspoint (e.g., a cell of the access point) may be based on an access modeassociated with the access point (or cell). For example, for certaintypes of access modes, the network may perform a membership check todetermine whether an access terminal to be handed-off to a target cellis a member of a group (e.g., a subscriber group such as a closedsubscriber group (CSG)) associated with the target cell. In this case,the network may inform the target cell (e.g., via a CSG membershipindication) whether the access terminal is a member.

For a target cell that is a hybrid cell, the target may use the CSGmembership indication to determine whether to admit the access terminalor to determine how to allocate resources for the access terminal and/oranother access terminal. For example, if the access terminal is amember, the target may decide to admit the access terminal and alsodecide whether it is necessary to handover another access terminal thatit is serving that is not a member of the CSG if there are insufficientresources to serve both access terminals. The target may decide tohandover the non-member access terminal before or after the handover ofthe member access terminal actually occurs. As another example, if theaccess terminal is not a member, the target may decide not to admit theaccess terminal if there are insufficient resources to serve the accessterminal based on the quality of service (QoS) requirements of thebearers assigned to the access terminal.

Access control may be performed by various components of the network.For example, in some implementations the network entity (e.g., amobility manager) may provide this access control (e.g., via an accessmode-based access control component 112). In some implementations anaccess point may provide this access control (e.g., via an accessmode-based access control component 114).

Sample access control operations will be described in more detail inconjunction with the flowcharts of FIGS. 2-7. For convenience, theoperations of FIGS. 2-7 (or any other operations discussed or taughtherein) may be described as being performed by specific components(e.g., components as shown in FIGS. 1 and 8). It should be appreciated,however, that these operations may be performed by other types ofcomponents and may be performed using a different number of components.It also should be appreciated that one or more of the operationsdescribed herein may not be employed in a given implementation.

The flowchart of FIGS. 2 and 3 illustrates operations that may beperformed in conjunction with a network entity (e.g., a mobilitymanager) performing access control as taught herein. For access controlperformed at a mobility manager, the mobility manager may need todetermine the CSG ID and access mode associated with the CGI of thetarget. For example, the mobility manager may not have knowledge of theCSG ID and access mode associated with the target if a gateway (e.g., aHeNB gateway) is deployed. As discussed herein, this information may beprovided to the mobility manager by the source or the target during thehandover procedure.

Such a network entity may take various forms. For example, in an LTEsystem a mobility manager may comprise a mobility management entity(MME). In a UMTS system, a mobility manager may comprise a serving GPRSsupport node (SGSN) and/or a mobile switching center/visitor locationregister (MSC/VLR).

For purposes of illustration, the discussion that follows may refer toan access terminal as being handed-over from a source to a target. Itshould be appreciated that the source and target may comprise accesspoints, cells, sectors, or some outer suitable entities.

An access terminal may regularly perform radio frequency (“RF”)measurements and determine that the signals being received from aneighbor cell (e.g., a prospective target) are stronger than the signalsbeing received from the current serving cell by a certain margin. Thus,as represented by block 202 of FIG. 2, the access terminal may send ameasurement report including the measurement information to the network(e.g., to its serving cell—the source cell for the handover) so that thenetwork may decide whether the access terminal should be handed-over tothe target.

In general, the access terminal is able to acquire certain informationabout the target from broadcast signals received from the target. Forexample, the access terminal may be able to determine one or moreidentifiers of the target (e.g., a physical cell identifier (PCI) and acell global identifier (CGI)), an identifier of a CSG (CSG ID)associated with the target, and an access mode of the target.Accordingly, in some implementations, the access terminal may includesome or all of this information in the measurement report.

Also, in some cases (e.g., when the access mode indicates that thetarget is a closed cell) the access terminal may compare the CSG ID ofthe target to the CSG IDs in the access terminal's CSG list (e.g., anallowed CSG list) to determine whether the access terminal is allowed toaccess the target. In such a case, the measurement report also mayinclude an indication of whether the access terminal is allowed toaccess the target (e.g., an indication of whether the access terminal isa member of a CSG of the target).

As represented by block 204, at some point in time the source determinesthe CSG ID and the access mode of the target. In some implementations,the source may receive this information via a message (e.g., themeasurement report) from the access terminal However, the accessterminal may not report this information (or even the CGI of the target)in other implementations. Accordingly, the source may acquire thisinformation in other ways in various implementations as discussed below.

The source may receive the CSG ID and access mode information via amessage from the target. For example, the target may send thisinformation to the source during a handover operation.

The source may determine the CSG ID and access mode information based onthe PCI of the target. For example, the source may use a look-up table(e.g., maintained at the source) that maps the PCI to a CSG ID andaccess mode). As another example, the source may use information aboutPCI ranges assigned to hybrid cells and closed cells to determine theaccess mode of the target.

The source may determine the CSG ID and access mode information based onthe CGI of the target. For example, the source may use a look-up table(e.g., maintained at the source) that maps the CGI to a CSG ID andaccess mode. In some cases, the source receives the CGI of the targetfrom the access terminal (e.g., via the measurement report). In caseswhere this is not possible, the source may receive the CGI from an OAMentity, the source may determine the CGI based on the PCI, or the sourcemay acquire the CGI in some other manner.

The source may determine the CSG ID and access mode information vianeighbor relations. For example, the source may communicate withneighboring cells to learn this information. As a specific example, CSGID and access mode may be added as a field of neighbor discovery duringautomatic neighbor relations (ANR) over an X2 interface in LTE.

The source may determine the CSG ID and access mode information viaconfiguration by an OAM entity. For example, CSG ID and access mode maybe added to a neighbor relation configured by an OAM.

The source may determine the CSG ID and access mode information via adirect transfer. Here, the source may query the target for theinformation and the target may respond to the query with theinformation. For example, discovery of CSG ID and access mode may besupported over an LTE S1 eNodeB/MME Direct Transfer, in a similar manneras Internet protocol (IP) address discovery is supported.

As represented by block 206, the source may then initiate handover(e.g., if the access terminal indicates that it is allowed to access thetarget). Here, the source sends a handover message which is received atthe network entity (e.g., MME) as represented by block 208. Thishandover message may include, for example, the CSG ID, access mode, andCGI of the target.

The handover message may take various forms in differentimplementations. For example, in an LTE system the source may send aHandover Required message to the MME, while in a UMTS system the sourcemay send a Relocation Required message to the MSC/SGSN.

As represented by block 210, the network entity determines the CSG IDand the access mode of the target. In some implementations, the networkentity may receive this information via a message (e.g., the handovermessage) from the source. In other implementations, the network entitymay acquire this information via a message from the target (e.g., duringhandover operations), or in some other manner.

Based on this target information and a CSG list (e.g., an allowed CSGlist) of the access terminal, the network entity may perform accesscontrol for the handover. For example, as represented by block 212 ofFIG. 3, the network entity may determine whether the access terminal isa member of a CSG associated with the target.

In the event the access mode indicates that the target has closed access(e.g., the target is not a hybrid cell or open cell) and it isdetermined that the access terminal is not allowed to access the target(e.g., the access terminal did not have the latest allowed CSG list and,hence, incorrectly indicated that it was allowed access), the networkentity may send a failure message back to the source. This failuremessage (e.g., a handover preparation failure message) may include, forexample, an error code that indicates that the access terminal is notallowed at the CSG.

As represented by block 214, the network entity also determines whetherto include an indication of whether the access terminal is a member ofthe CSG of the target in a handover message to be sent to the target.For example, in the event the access mode indicates that the target is ahybrid cell, the network entity will include this indication in themessage. In this way, the target may determine whether the accessterminal is a member or non-member of the CSG for the handover decision.In contrast, if the access mode indicates that the target has closedaccess (e.g., where the handover message is sent only if access isallowed), the network entity may elect to not include such an indicationin the handover message.

As represented by block 216, the network entity then sends the handovermessage to the target. This handover message may include, for example,the CSG ID, access mode, and CGI of the target. For example, in a casewhere the source obtains the CSG ID and the access mode from an accessterminal, it may be desirable to confirm the CSG ID and the access modeto ensure that a rogue access terminal is not reporting this informationincorrectly. One way to do this is for the network entity to include theCSG ID and the access mode in the handover message sent to the targetand for the target to check that this is in fact the CSG ID and accessmode that the target is advertising.

The handover message sent at block 216 may take various forms indifferent implementations. For example, in an LTE system the networkentity may send a Handover Request message to the target, while in aUMTS system the source may send a Relocation Request message to theMSC/SGSN. Also, in cases there the target is accessed via a gateway(e.g., a Home eNodeB gateway) the handover message is sent to the targetvia the gateway.

As represented by block 218, upon receipt of this message, the targetmay perform access control for the handover. For example, the target mayconfirm that the CSG ID and the access mode are correct. If the targetis a hybrid cell, the target cell may use the indication of whether theaccess terminal is a member of the CSG in determining whether to acceptthe handover and/or how to allocate resources (e.g., QoS).

The target may then send a handover acknowledgement message (e.g., ahandover request acknowledgement message or a relocation requestacknowledgement message) to the network entity. In some implementations,the handover acknowledgement message may include the CSG ID and accessmode of the target. In this way, the network entity may perform theaccess control (e.g., membership check) upon receipt of this message(e.g., rather than at block 212).

As represented by block 220, upon receipt of the handoveracknowledgement message, the network entity may send a handover message(e.g., a handover command or a relocation command) to the source. Thehandover of the access terminal to the target may then be completed.

The flowchart of FIGS. 4 and 5 illustrates operations that may beperformed in conjunction with a source access point performing accesscontrol as taught herein. Such an access point may take various forms.For example, in an LTE system an access point may be referred to as aneNodeB, a Home eNodeB, and so on. In a UMTS system, an access point maybe referred to as a NodeB, a Home NodeB, and so on.

For access control performed at a source, the source may need todetermine the CSG ID and access mode associated with the CGI of thetarget, as well as the CSG list (e.g., allowed CSG list) of the accessterminal The source may acquire the CSG ID and access mode, for example,as discussed above in conjunction with block 204. The source may acquirethe CSG list of the access terminal in various ways. For example, theCSG list may be included in a Handover Restriction List (in a case ofhandover over an S1 interface), in a Handover Request (in the case ofhandover over an X2 interface), or in some other suitable manner.

There may be several advantages associated with performing the accesscontrol at the source if the source knows the CGI to CSG mapping. Forexample, the source may make the decision to handover the accessterminal to the target even in the case where the access terminal's CSGlist is out of date (e.g., the indication from the access terminal thatit is allowed to access the cell may be considered redundant). Asanother example, for a hybrid access mode target, the source or networkentity may inform the target whether the access terminal is a member ofthe CSG, so that the target may distinguish between members and nonmembers of the CSG for the handover decision. As yet another example, ifPCI confusion does not exist with regard to the target, the source mayperform access control for an access terminal without requiring theaccess terminal to read the CSG or report the CGI. This may result in afurther reduction in the handover latency. Also, source-based accesscontrol enables access control for an X2 handover if the CSG is in amacro eNB.

Referring now to FIG. 4, as represented by blocks 402 and 404, at somepoint in time an access terminal sends a measurement report to thesource and the source determines the CSG ID and access mode of thetarget. These operations may be similar to the operations describedabove at blocks 202 and 204.

Based on this target information and a CSG list (e.g., an allowed CSGlist) of the access terminal, the source may perform access control forthe handover. For example, as represented by block 406, the source maydetermine whether the access terminal is a member of a CSG associatedwith the target.

As represented by block 408, the source determines whether to include anindication of whether the access terminal is a member of the CSG of thetarget in a handover message to be sent to the network entity. Forexample, in the event the access mode indicates that the target is ahybrid cell, the source includes this indication in the handovermessage. In contrast, if the access mode indicates that the target hasclosed access (e.g., where the handover message is sent only if accessis allowed), the source may elect to not include such an indication inthe handover message.

As represented by block 410, the source then sends the handover messageto the network entity to initiate the handover. This handover messagemay include, for example, the CSG ID, access mode, and CGI of thetarget.

The handover message sent at block 410 may take various forms indifferent implementations. For example, in an LTE system the source maysend a Handover Required message to the target, while in a UMTS systemthe source may send a Relocation Required message to the MSC/SGSN.

As represented by block 412 of FIG. 5, upon receipt of this handovermessage from the source, the network entity sends a handover message tothe target. If the target is a hybrid cell, this handover message mayinclude an indication of whether the access terminal is a member of theCSG of the target. In addition, this handover message may include, forexample, the CSG ID, access mode, and CGI of the target.

Also, in some implementations, if the handover message received by thenetwork entity includes the CSG ID and access mode of the target, thenetwork entity may optionally perform access control (e.g., a membershipcheck).

The handover message sent at block 412 may take various forms indifferent implementations. For example, in an LTE system the networkentity may send a Handover Request message to the target, while in aUMTS system the source may send a Relocation Request message to theMSC/SGSN.

As represented by block 414, upon receipt of this message, the targetmay perform access control for the handover. For example, if the targetis a hybrid cell, the target cell may use the indication of whether theaccess terminal is a member of the CSG in determining whether to acceptthe handover and/or how to allocate resources. The target may then senda handover acknowledgement message (e.g., a handover requestacknowledgement message or a relocation request acknowledgement message)to the network entity. Then, as represented by block 416, the networkentity may send a handover message (e.g., a handover command or arelocation command) to the source. Thus, the operations of blocks 414and 416 may be similar to the operations of blocks 218 and 220 discussedabove.

The flowchart of FIGS. 6 and 7 illustrates operations that may beperformed in conjunction with a network entity performing access controlas taught herein after an access terminal experiences RLF. Here, acontext fetch may be initiated by a cell when the access terminalattempts to establish a connection at the cell after experiencing RLF atanother cell. In some cases, when an access terminal accesses a targetduring RLF, the access terminal may report an identity that isrecognizable by the network entity (e.g., MME). For example, the accessterminal may report an identifier such as TIMSI or IMSI.

Referring initially to FIG. 6, as represented by block 602, at somepoint in time an access terminal may experience RLF at a given cell(hereafter referred to as the source, for convenience). As a result ofthis RLF condition, the access terminal may attempt to connect to adifferent cell (hereafter referred to as the target, for convenience).Here, the access terminal may identify a potential target and read theinformation broadcast by that target (e.g., system information blocks(SIBs)) to determine if the access terminal is allowed to access thetarget. For example, if the target is a closed access mode CSG cell, theaccess terminal may compare the CSG ID advertised by the target with theCSGs in the allowed CSG list of the access terminal If allowed, theaccess terminal may then attempt to access the target.

As represented by block 604, the access terminal may thus send a requestto establish a connection to the target. This request may include, forexample, the PCI, CGI and CSG ID of the source. In addition, the requestmay include an identifier of the access terminal (e.g., as discussedabove).

As represented by block 606, as a result of the request, the target maydetermine that it needs to acquire context information associated withthe access terminal Accordingly, as represented by block 608, the targetmay send a message requesting the context information (e.g., a contextfetch message). This message may include, for example, the CGI, CSG ID,and access mode of the target, along with the CGI and CSG ID of thesource. In addition, this message may include an identifier of theaccess terminal.

As represented by block 610, a network entity (e.g., a mobility manager)may receive the message sent at block 608. As represented by block 612of FIG. 7, the network entity may determine the CSG ID and access modeof the target. For example, the network entity may receive thisinformation from the target via the message received at block 610 or viasome other message (e.g., a registration message).

As represented by block 614, the network entity may perform accesscontrol based on the received information. For example, if the target isa hybrid cell, the network entity may perform a membership check bydetermining whether the access terminal is a member of the CSG of thetarget. If the access control indicates that the access terminal is notallowed to access the target, the network entity may send an errormessage to the target.

As represented by block 616, if the access control indicates that theaccess terminal is allowed to access the target, the network entitysends a message requesting the context information (e.g., forwards thecontext fetch) to the source. Here, the network entity may identify thesource based on, for example, the CGI of the source obtained by thenetwork entity as discussed above. The message sent at block 616 mayinclude, for example, the CGI, CSG ID, and access mode of the target.

As represented by block 618, upon receipt of the message from thenetwork entity requesting the context information, the source sends thecontext information to the target. For example, the source may initiatehandover of the access terminal to the target, whereby operations suchas those described above at blocks 204-220 may be performed.

In an alternative implementation (e.g., where the source is able toacquire the CSG list of the access terminal), the source may performaccess control for handover to a cell during an RLF event. Here, if RLFoccurs, the access terminal identifies a target and reads the targetbroadcast information (e.g., SIBs) to determine if the access terminalis allowed to access the target. For example, if the target is a closedaccess mode CSG cell, the access terminal may compare the CSG IDadvertised by the target with the CSGs in the CSG list of the accessterminal If allowed, the access terminal accesses the target cell andindicates the PCI of the source and an access terminal identifier, andoptionally the CGI of the source. The target then sends a context fetchmessage to the source including the CSG ID, access mode, and CGI of thetarget cell. Alternatively, a context fetch message may be sent to thesource as described above at blocks 608-616. Upon receipt of the messagerequesting the context information, the source sends the contextinformation to the target. For example, the source may initiate handoverof the access terminal to the target, whereby operations such as thosedescribed above at blocks 404-416 may be performed.

FIG. 8 illustrates several sample components that may be incorporatedinto nodes such as an access point 802 and a mobility manager 804 toperform access control operations as taught herein. The describedcomponents also may be incorporated into other nodes in a communicationsystem. For example, other nodes in a system may include componentssimilar to those described for the access point 802 and the mobilitymanager 804 to provide similar functionality. A given node may containone or more of the described components. For example, an access pointmay contain multiple transmitter and receiver components that enable theaccess point to communicate via different technologies.

As shown in FIG. 8, the access point 802 and the mobility manager 804include transmitters and receivers for communicating with other nodes(e.g., via wire-based links or wireless links). The access point 802includes a transmitter 806 for sending signals (e.g., messages) and areceiver 808 for receiving signals. Similarly, the mobility manager 804includes a transmitter 810 for sending signals and a receiver 812 forreceiving signals.

The access point 802 and the mobility manager 804 also include othercomponents that may be used in conjunction with access controloperations as taught herein. For example, the access point 802 and themobility manager 804 may include communication controllers 814 and 816,respectively, for managing communication with other nodes (e.g.,formatting and processing messages/indications) and for providing otherrelated functionality as taught herein. In addition, the access point802 and the mobility manager 804 may include access controllers 818 and820, respectively, for performing access control-related operations(e.g., determining whether an access terminal is a member of a CSG,determining a CSG ID, determining a CSG associated with a cell,determining an access mode of a cell, determining whether to include anindication in a message, determining an access terminal identifier,determining that context information is needed) and for providing otherrelated functionality as taught herein.

In some implementations the components of FIG. 8 may be implemented inone or more processors (e.g., that uses and/or incorporates data memoryfor storing information or code used by the processor(s) to provide thisfunctionality). For example, the functionality of blocks 814 and 818 maybe implemented by a processor or processors of an access point and datamemory of the access point (e.g., by execution of appropriate codeand/or by appropriate configuration of processor components). Similarly,the functionality of blocks 816 and 820 may be implemented by aprocessor or processors of a mobility manager and data memory of themobility manager (e.g., by execution of appropriate code and/or byappropriate configuration of processor components).

The teachings herein may be employed in a network that includes macroscale coverage (e.g., a large area cellular network such as a 3Gnetwork, typically referred to as a macro cell network or a WAN) andsmaller scale coverage (e.g., a residence-based or building-basednetwork environment, typically referred to as a LAN). As an accessterminal (AT) moves through such a network, the access terminal may beserved in certain locations by access points that provide macro coveragewhile the access terminal may be served at other locations by accesspoints that provide smaller scale coverage. In some aspects, the smallercoverage nodes may be used to provide incremental capacity growth,in-building coverage, and different services (e.g., for a more robustuser experience).

A node (e.g., an access point) that provides coverage over a relativelylarge area may be referred to as a macro access point while a node thatprovides coverage over a relatively small area (e.g., a residence) maybe referred to as a femto access point. It should be appreciated thatthe teachings herein may be applicable to nodes associated with othertypes of coverage areas. For example, a pico access point may providecoverage (e.g., coverage within a commercial building) over an area thatis smaller than a macro area and larger than a femto area. In variousapplications, other terminology may be used to reference a macro accesspoint, a femto access point, or other access point-type nodes. Forexample, a macro access point may be configured or referred to as anaccess node, base station, access point, eNodeB, macro cell, and so on.Also, a femto access point may be configured or referred to as a HomeNodeB, Home eNodeB, access point base station, femto cell, and so on. Insome implementations, a node may be associated with (e.g., referred toas or divided into) one or more cells or sectors. A cell or sectorassociated with a macro access point, a femto access point, or a picoaccess point may be referred to as a macro cell, a femto cell, or a picocell, respectively.

FIG. 9 illustrates a wireless communication system 900, configured tosupport a number of users, in which the teachings herein may beimplemented. The system 900 provides communication for multiple cells902, such as, for example, macro cells 902A-902G, with each cell beingserviced by a corresponding access point 904 (e.g., access points904A-904G). As shown in FIG. 9, access terminals 906 (e.g., accessterminals 906A-906L) may be dispersed at various locations throughoutthe system over time. Each access terminal 906 may communicate with oneor more access points 904 on a forward link (FL) and/or a reverse link(RL) at a given moment, depending upon whether the access terminal 906is active and whether it is in soft handoff, for example. The wirelesscommunication system 900 may provide service over a large geographicregion. For example, macro cells 902A-902G may cover a few blocks in aneighborhood or several miles in rural environment.

FIG. 10 illustrates an exemplary communication system 1000 where one ormore femto access points are deployed within a network environment.Specifically, the system 1000 includes multiple femto access points 1010(e.g., femto access points 1010A and 1010B) installed in a relativelysmall scale network environment (e.g., in one or more user residences1030). Each femto access point 1010 may be coupled to a wide areanetwork 1040 (e.g., the Internet) and a mobile operator core network1050 via a DSL router, a cable modem, a wireless link, or otherconnectivity means (not shown). As will be discussed below, each femtoaccess point 1010 may be configured to serve associated access terminals1020 (e.g., access terminal 1020A) and, optionally, other (e.g., hybridor alien) access terminals 1020 (e.g., access terminal 1020B). In otherwords, access to femto access points 1010 may be restricted whereby agiven access terminal 1020 may be served by a set of designated (e.g.,home) femto access point(s) 1010 but may not be served by anynon-designated femto access points 1010 (e.g., a neighbor's femto accesspoint 1010).

FIG. 11 illustrates an example of a coverage map 1100 where severaltracking areas 1102 (or routing areas or location areas) are defined,each of which includes several macro coverage areas 1104. Here, areas ofcoverage associated with tracking areas 1102A, 1102B, and 1102C aredelineated by the wide lines and the macro coverage areas 1104 arerepresented by the larger hexagons. The tracking areas 1102 also includefemto coverage areas 1106. In this example, each of the femto coverageareas 1106 (e.g., femto coverage areas 1106B and 1106C) is depictedwithin one or more macro coverage areas 1104 (e.g., macro coverage areas1104A and 1104B). It should be appreciated, however, that some or all ofa femto coverage area 1106 may not lie within a macro coverage area1104. In practice, a large number of femto coverage areas 1106 (e.g.,femto coverage areas 1106A and 1106D) may be defined within a giventracking area 1102 or macro coverage area 1104. Also, one or more picocoverage areas (not shown) may be defined within a given tracking area1102 or macro coverage area 1104.

Referring again to FIG. 10, the owner of a femto access point 1010 maysubscribe to mobile service, such as, for example, 3G mobile service,offered through the mobile operator core network 1050. In addition, anaccess terminal 1020 may be capable of operating both in macroenvironments and in smaller scale (e.g., residential) networkenvironments. In other words, depending on the current location of theaccess terminal 1020, the access terminal 1020 may be served by a macrocell access point 1060 associated with the mobile operator core network1050 or by any one of a set of femto access points 1010 (e.g., the femtoaccess points 1010A and 1010B that reside within a corresponding userresidence 1030). For example, when a subscriber is outside his home, heis served by a standard macro access point (e.g., access point 1060) andwhen the subscriber is at home, he is served by a femto access point(e.g., access point 1010A). Here, a femto access point 1010 may bebackward compatible with legacy access terminals 1020.

A femto access point 1010 may be deployed on a single frequency or, inthe alternative, on multiple frequencies. Depending on the particularconfiguration, the single frequency or one or more of the multiplefrequencies may overlap with one or more frequencies used by a macroaccess point (e.g., access point 1060).

In some aspects, an access terminal 1020 may be configured to connect toa preferred femto access point (e.g., the home femto access point of theaccess terminal 1020) whenever such connectivity is possible. Forexample, whenever the access terminal 1020A is within the user'sresidence 1030, it may be desired that the access terminal 1020Acommunicate only with the home femto access point 1010A or 1010B.

In some aspects, if the access terminal 1020 operates within the macrocellular network 1050 but is not residing on its most preferred network(e.g., as defined in a preferred roaming list), the access terminal 1020may continue to search for the most preferred network (e.g., thepreferred femto access point 1010) using a better system reselection(BSR) procedure, which may involve a periodic scanning of availablesystems to determine whether better systems are currently available andsubsequently acquire such preferred systems. The access terminal 1020may limit the search for specific band and channel. For example, one ormore femto channels may be defined whereby all femto access points (orall restricted femto access points) in a region operate on the femtochannel(s). The search for the most preferred system may be repeatedperiodically. Upon discovery of a preferred femto access point 1010, theaccess terminal 1020 selects the femto access point 1010 and registerson it for use when within its coverage area.

Access to a femto access point may be restricted in some aspects. Forexample, a given femto access point may only provide certain services tocertain access terminals. In deployments with so-called restricted (orclosed) access, a given access terminal may only be served by the macrocell mobile network and a defined set of femto access points (e.g., thefemto access points 1010 that reside within the corresponding userresidence 1030). In some implementations, an access point may berestricted to not provide, for at least one node (e.g., accessterminal), at least one of: signaling, data access, registration,paging, or service.

In some aspects, a restricted femto access point (which may also bereferred to as a Closed Subscriber Group Home NodeB) is one thatprovides service to a restricted provisioned set of access terminals.This set may be temporarily or permanently extended as necessary. Insome aspects, a Closed Subscriber Group (CSG) may be defined as the setof access points (e.g., femto access points) that share a common accesscontrol list of access terminals.

Various relationships may thus exist between a given femto access pointand a given access terminal For example, from the perspective of anaccess terminal, an open femto access point may refer to a femto accesspoint with unrestricted access (e.g., the femto access point allowsaccess to any access terminal). A restricted femto access point mayrefer to a femto access point that is restricted in some manner (e.g.,restricted for access and/or registration). A home femto access pointmay refer to a femto access point on which the access terminal isauthorized to access and operate on (e.g., permanent access is providedfor a defined set of one or more access terminals). A hybrid (or guest)femto access point may refer to a femto access point on which differentaccess terminals are provided different levels of service (e.g., someaccess terminals may be allowed partial and/or temporary access whileother access terminals may be allowed full access). An alien femtoaccess point may refer to a femto access point on which the accessterminal is not authorized to access or operate on, except for perhapsemergency situations (e.g., 911 calls).

From a restricted femto access point perspective, a home access terminalmay refer to an access terminal that is authorized to access therestricted femto access point installed in the residence of that accessterminal's owner (usually the home access terminal has permanent accessto that femto access point). A guest access terminal may refer to anaccess terminal with temporary access to the restricted femto accesspoint (e.g., limited based on deadline, time of use, bytes, connectioncount, or some other criterion or criteria). An alien access terminalmay refer to an access terminal that does not have permission to accessthe restricted femto access point, except for perhaps emergencysituations, for example, such as 911 calls (e.g., an access terminalthat does not have the credentials or permission to register with therestricted femto access point).

For convenience, the disclosure herein describes various functionalityin the context of a femto access point. It should be appreciated,however, that a pico access point may provide the same or similarfunctionality for a larger coverage area. For example, a pico accesspoint may be restricted, a home pico access point may be defined for agiven access terminal, and so on.

The teachings herein may be employed in a wireless multiple-accesscommunication system that simultaneously supports communication formultiple wireless access terminals. Here, each terminal may communicatewith one or more access points via transmissions on the forward andreverse links. The forward link (or downlink) refers to thecommunication link from the access points to the terminals, and thereverse link (or uplink) refers to the communication link from theterminals to the access points. This communication link may beestablished via a single-in-single-out system, amultiple-in-multiple-out (MIMO) system, or some other type of system.

A MIMO system employs multiple (N_(T)) transmit antennas and multiple(N_(R)) receive antennas for data transmission. A MIMO channel formed bythe N_(T) transmit and N_(R) receive antennas may be decomposed intoN_(S) independent channels, which are also referred to as spatialchannels, where N_(S)≦min{N_(T), N_(R)}. Each of the N_(S) independentchannels corresponds to a dimension. The MIMO system may provideimproved performance (e.g., higher throughput and/or greaterreliability) if the additional dimensionalities created by the multipletransmit and receive antennas are utilized.

A MIMO system may support time division duplex (TDD) and frequencydivision duplex (FDD). In a TDD system, the forward and reverse linktransmissions are on the same frequency region so that the reciprocityprinciple allows the estimation of the forward link channel from thereverse link channel. This enables the access point to extract transmitbeam-forming gain on the forward link when multiple antennas areavailable at the access point.

FIG. 12 illustrates a wireless device 1210 (e.g., an access point) and awireless device 1250 (e.g., an access terminal) of a sample MIMO system1200. At the device 1210, traffic data for a number of data streams isprovided from a data source 1212 to a transmit (TX) data processor 1214.Each data stream may then be transmitted over a respective transmitantenna.

The TX data processor 1214 formats, codes, and interleaves the trafficdata for each data stream based on a particular coding scheme selectedfor that data stream to provide coded data. The coded data for each datastream may be multiplexed with pilot data using OFDM techniques. Thepilot data is typically a known data pattern that is processed in aknown manner and may be used at the receiver system to estimate thechannel response. The multiplexed pilot and coded data for each datastream is then modulated (i.e., symbol mapped) based on a particularmodulation scheme (e.g., BPSK, QSPK, M-PSK, or M-QAM) selected for thatdata stream to provide modulation symbols. The data rate, coding, andmodulation for each data stream may be determined by instructionsperformed by a processor 1230. A data memory 1232 may store programcode, data, and other information used by the processor 1230 or othercomponents of the device 1210.

The modulation symbols for all data streams are then provided to a TXMIMO processor 1220, which may further process the modulation symbols(e.g., for OFDM). The TX MIMO processor 1220 then provides N_(T)modulation symbol streams to N_(T) transceivers (XCVR) 1222A through1222T. In some aspects, the TX MIMO processor 1220 applies beam-formingweights to the symbols of the data streams and to the antenna from whichthe symbol is being transmitted.

Each transceiver 1222 receives and processes a respective symbol streamto provide one or more analog signals, and further conditions (e.g.,amplifies, filters, and upconverts) the analog signals to provide amodulated signal suitable for transmission over the MIMO channel. N_(T)modulated signals from transceivers 1222A through 1222T are thentransmitted from N_(T) antennas 1224A through 1224T, respectively.

At the device 1250, the transmitted modulated signals are received byN_(R) antennas 1252A through 1252R and the received signal from eachantenna 1252 is provided to a respective transceiver (XCVR) 1254Athrough 1254R. Each transceiver 1254 conditions (e.g., filters,amplifies, and downconverts) a respective received signal, digitizes theconditioned signal to provide samples, and further processes the samplesto provide a corresponding “received” symbol stream.

A receive (RX) data processor 1260 then receives and processes the N_(R)received symbol streams from N_(R) transceivers 1254 based on aparticular receiver processing technique to provide N_(T) “detected”symbol streams. The RX data processor 1260 then demodulates,deinterleaves, and decodes each detected symbol stream to recover thetraffic data for the data stream. The processing by the RX dataprocessor 1260 is complementary to that performed by the TX MIMOprocessor 1220 and the TX data processor 1214 at the device 1210.

A processor 1270 periodically determines which pre-coding matrix to use(discussed below). The processor 1270 formulates a reverse link messagecomprising a matrix index portion and a rank value portion. A datamemory 1272 may store program code, data, and other information used bythe processor 1270 or other components of the device 1250.

The reverse link message may comprise various types of informationregarding the communication link and/or the received data stream. Thereverse link message is then processed by a TX data processor 1238,which also receives traffic data for a number of data streams from adata source 1236, modulated by a modulator 1280, conditioned by thetransceivers 1254A through 1254R, and transmitted back to the device1210.

At the device 1210, the modulated signals from the device 1250 arereceived by the antennas 1224, conditioned by the transceivers 1222,demodulated by a demodulator (DEMOD) 1240, and processed by a RX dataprocessor 1242 to extract the reverse link message transmitted by thedevice 1250. The processor 1230 then determines which pre-coding matrixto use for determining the beam-forming weights then processes theextracted message.

FIG. 12 also illustrates that the communication components may includeone or more components that perform access control operations as taughtherein. For example, an access control component 1290 may cooperate withthe processor 1230 and/or other components of the device 1210 to controlaccess by another device (e.g., device 1250) as taught herein. It shouldbe appreciated that for each device 1210 and 1250 the functionality oftwo or more of the described components may be provided by a singlecomponent. For example, a single processing component may provide thefunctionality of the access control component 1290 and the processor1230.

The teachings herein may be incorporated into various types ofcommunication systems and/or system components. In some aspects, theteachings herein may be employed in a multiple-access system capable ofsupporting communication with multiple users by sharing the availablesystem resources (e.g., by specifying one or more of bandwidth, transmitpower, coding, interleaving, and so on). For example, the teachingsherein may be applied to any one or combinations of the followingtechnologies: Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) systems,Multiple-Carrier CDMA (MCCDMA), Wideband CDMA (W-CDMA), High-SpeedPacket Access (HSPA, HSPA+) systems, Time Division Multiple Access(TDMA) systems, Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA) systems,Single-Carrier FDMA (SC-FDMA) systems, Orthogonal Frequency DivisionMultiple Access (OFDMA) systems, or other multiple access techniques. Awireless communication system employing the teachings herein may bedesigned to implement one or more standards, such as IS-95, cdma2000,IS-856, W-CDMA, TDSCDMA, and other standards. A CDMA network mayimplement a radio technology such as Universal Terrestrial Radio Access(UTRA), cdma2000, or some other technology. UTRA includes W-CDMA and LowChip Rate (LCR). The cdma2000 technology covers IS-2000, IS-95 andIS-856 standards. A TDMA network may implement a radio technology suchas Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM). An OFDMA network mayimplement a radio technology such as Evolved UTRA (E-UTRA), IEEE 802.11,IEEE 802.16, IEEE 802.20, Flash-OFDM®, etc. UTRA, E-UTRA, and GSM arepart of Universal Mobile Telecommunication System (UMTS). The teachingsherein may be implemented in a 3GPP Long Term Evolution (LTE) system, anUltra-Mobile Broadband (UMB) system, and other types of systems. LTE isa release of UMTS that uses E-UTRA. UTRA, E-UTRA, GSM, UMTS and LTE aredescribed in documents from an organization named “3rd GenerationPartnership Project” (3GPP), while cdma2000 is described in documentsfrom an organization named “3rd Generation Partnership Project 2”(3GPP2). Although certain aspects of the disclosure may be describedusing 3GPP terminology, it is to be understood that the teachings hereinmay be applied to 3GPP (e.g., Re199, Re15, Re16, Re17) technology, aswell as 3GPP2 (e.g., 1xRTT, 1xEV-DO Re10, RevA, RevB) technology andother technologies.

The teachings herein may be incorporated into (e.g., implemented withinor performed by) a variety of apparatuses (e.g., nodes). In someaspects, a node (e.g., a wireless node) implemented in accordance withthe teachings herein may comprise an access point or an access terminal.

For example, an access terminal may comprise, be implemented as, orknown as user equipment, a subscriber station, a subscriber unit, amobile station, a mobile, a mobile node, a remote station, a remoteterminal, a user terminal, a user agent, a user device, or some otherterminology. In some implementations an access terminal may comprise acellular telephone, a cordless telephone, a session initiation protocol(SIP) phone, a wireless local loop (WLL) station, a personal digitalassistant (PDA), a handheld device having wireless connectioncapability, or some other suitable processing device connected to awireless modem. Accordingly, one or more aspects taught herein may beincorporated into a phone (e.g., a cellular phone or smart phone), acomputer (e.g., a laptop), a portable communication device, a portablecomputing device (e.g., a personal data assistant), an entertainmentdevice (e.g., a music device, a video device, or a satellite radio), aglobal positioning system device, or any other suitable device that isconfigured to communicate via a wireless medium.

An access point may comprise, be implemented as, or known as a NodeB, aneNodeB, a radio network controller (RNC), a base station (BS), a radiobase station (RBS), a base station controller (BSC), a base transceiverstation (BTS), a transceiver function (TF), a radio transceiver, a radiorouter, a basic service set (BSS), an extended service set (ESS), amacro cell, a macro node, a Home eNB (HeNB), a femto cell, a femto node,a pico node, or some other similar terminology.

In some aspects a node (e.g., an access point) may comprise an accessnode for a communication system. Such an access node may provide, forexample, connectivity for or to a network (e.g., a wide area networksuch as the Internet or a cellular network) via a wired or wirelesscommunication link to the network. Accordingly, an access node mayenable another node (e.g., an access terminal) to access a network orsome other functionality. In addition, it should be appreciated that oneor both of the nodes may be portable or, in some cases, relativelynon-portable.

Also, it should be appreciated that a wireless node may be capable oftransmitting and/or receiving information in a non-wireless manner(e.g., via a wired connection). Thus, a receiver and a transmitter asdiscussed herein may include appropriate communication interfacecomponents (e.g., electrical or optical interface components) tocommunicate via a non-wireless medium.

A wireless node may communicate via one or more wireless communicationlinks that are based on or otherwise support any suitable wirelesscommunication technology. For example, in some aspects a wireless nodemay associate with a network. In some aspects the network may comprise alocal area network or a wide area network. A wireless device may supportor otherwise use one or more of a variety of wireless communicationtechnologies, protocols, or standards such as those discussed herein(e.g., CDMA, TDMA, OFDM, OFDMA, WiMAX, Wi-Fi, and so on). Similarly, awireless node may support or otherwise use one or more of a variety ofcorresponding modulation or multiplexing schemes. A wireless node maythus include appropriate components (e.g., air interfaces) to establishand communicate via one or more wireless communication links using theabove or other wireless communication technologies. For example, awireless node may comprise a wireless transceiver with associatedtransmitter and receiver components that may include various components(e.g., signal generators and signal processors) that facilitatecommunication over a wireless medium.

The functionality described herein (e.g., with regard to one or more ofthe accompanying figures) may correspond in some aspects to similarlydesignated “means for” functionality in the appended claims. Referringto FIGS. 13-17, apparatuses 1300, 1400, 1500, 1600, and 1700 arerepresented as a series of interrelated functional modules. Here, amessage receiving module 1302 may correspond at least in some aspectsto, for example, a receiver as discussed herein. A subscriber groupdetermining module 1304 may correspond at least in some aspects to, forexample, an access controller as discussed herein. A message sendingmodule 1306 may correspond at least in some aspects to, for example, atransmitter as discussed herein. A subscriber group identifierdetermining module 1308 may correspond at least in some aspects to, forexample, an access controller as discussed herein. An access modeindication determining module 1310 may correspond at least in someaspects to, for example, an access controller as discussed herein. Anindication inclusion determining module 1312 may correspond at least insome aspects to, for example, an access controller as discussed herein.An access mode determining module 1402 may correspond at least in someaspects to, for example, an access controller as discussed herein. Amessage sending module 1404 may correspond at least in some aspects to,for example, a transmitter as discussed herein. A subscriber groupidentifier determining module 1406 may correspond at least in someaspects to, for example, an access controller as discussed herein. Asubscriber group member determining module 1502 may correspond at leastin some aspects to, for example, an access controller as discussedherein. A message sending module 1504 may correspond at least in someaspects to, for example, a transmitter as discussed herein. A subscribergroup identifier determining module 1506 may correspond at least in someaspects to, for example, an access controller as discussed herein. Anaccess mode indication determining module 1508 may correspond at leastin some aspects to, for example, an access controller as discussedherein. An indication inclusion determining module 1510 may correspondat least in some aspects to, for example, an access controller asdiscussed herein. A message receiving module 1602 may correspond atleast in some aspects to, for example, a receiver as discussed herein. Asubscriber group determining module 1604 may correspond at least in someaspects to, for example, an access controller as discussed herein. Asubscriber group member determining module 1606 may correspond at leastin some aspects to, for example, an access controller as discussedherein. A message sending module 1608 may correspond at least in someaspects to, for example, a transmitter as discussed herein. An accessmode determining module 1610 may correspond at least in some aspects to,for example, an access controller as discussed herein. An accessterminal identifier determining module 1612 may correspond at least insome aspects to, for example, an access controller as discussed herein.A request receiving module 1702 may correspond at least in some aspectsto, for example, a receiver as discussed herein. A context informationdetermining module 1704 may correspond at least in some aspects to, forexample, an access controller as discussed herein. A message sendingmodule 1706 may correspond at least in some aspects to, for example, atransmitter as discussed herein.

The functionality of the modules of FIGS. 13-17 may be implemented invarious ways consistent with the teachings herein. In some aspects thefunctionality of these modules may be implemented as one or moreelectrical components. In some aspects the functionality of these blocksmay be implemented as a processing system including one or moreprocessor components. In some aspects the functionality of these modulesmay be implemented using, for example, at least a portion of one or moreintegrated circuits (e.g., an ASIC). As discussed herein, an integratedcircuit may include a processor, software, other related components, orsome combination thereof The functionality of these modules also may beimplemented in some other manner as taught herein. In some aspects oneor more of any dashed blocks in FIGS. 13-17 are optional.

It should be understood that any reference to an element herein using adesignation such as “first,” “second,” and so forth does not generallylimit the quantity or order of those elements. Rather, thesedesignations may be used herein as a convenient method of distinguishingbetween two or more elements or instances of an element. Thus, areference to first and second elements does not mean that only twoelements may be employed there or that the first element must precedethe second element in some manner. Also, unless stated otherwise a setof elements may comprise one or more elements. In addition, terminologyof the form “at least one of: A, B, or C” used in the description or theclaims means “A or B or C or any combination of these elements.”

Those of skill in the art would understand that information and signalsmay be represented using any of a variety of different technologies andtechniques. For example, data, instructions, commands, information,signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may be referenced throughout theabove description may be represented by voltages, currents,electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles, optical fields orparticles, or any combination thereof.

Those of skill would further appreciate that any of the variousillustrative logical blocks, modules, processors, means, circuits, andalgorithm steps described in connection with the aspects disclosedherein may be implemented as electronic hardware (e.g., a digitalimplementation, an analog implementation, or a combination of the two,which may be designed using source coding or some other technique),various forms of program or design code incorporating instructions(which may be referred to herein, for convenience, as “software” or a“software module”), or combinations of both. To clearly illustrate thisinterchangeability of hardware and software, various illustrativecomponents, blocks, modules, circuits, and steps have been describedabove generally in terms of their functionality. Whether suchfunctionality is implemented as hardware or software depends upon theparticular application and design constraints imposed on the overallsystem. Skilled artisans may implement the described functionality invarying ways for each particular application, but such implementationdecisions should not be interpreted as causing a departure from thescope of the present disclosure.

The various illustrative logical blocks, modules, and circuits describedin connection with the aspects disclosed herein may be implementedwithin or performed by an integrated circuit (IC), an access terminal,or an access point. The IC may comprise a general purpose processor, adigital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integratedcircuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or otherprogrammable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discretehardware components, electrical components, optical components,mechanical components, or any combination thereof designed to performthe functions described herein, and may execute codes or instructionsthat reside within the IC, outside of the IC, or both. A general purposeprocessor may be a microprocessor, but in the alternative, the processormay be any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or statemachine. A processor may also be implemented as a combination ofcomputing devices, e.g., a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, aplurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunctionwith a DSP core, or any other such configuration.

It is understood that any specific order or hierarchy of steps in anydisclosed process is an example of a sample approach. Based upon designpreferences, it is understood that the specific order or hierarchy ofsteps in the processes may be rearranged while remaining within thescope of the present disclosure. The accompanying method claims presentelements of the various steps in a sample order, and are not meant to belimited to the specific order or hierarchy presented.

In one or more exemplary embodiments, the functions described may beimplemented in hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof.If implemented in software, the functions may be stored on ortransmitted over as one or more instructions or code on acomputer-readable medium. Computer-readable media includes both computerstorage media and communication media including any medium thatfacilitates transfer of a computer program from one place to another. Astorage media may be any available media that can be accessed by acomputer. By way of example, and not limitation, such computer-readablemedia can comprise RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical diskstorage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or anyother medium that can be used to carry or store desired program code inthe form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed bya computer. Also, any connection is properly termed a computer-readablemedium. For example, if the software is transmitted from a website,server, or other remote source using a coaxial cable, fiber optic cable,twisted pair, digital subscriber line (DSL), or wireless technologiessuch as infrared, radio, and microwave, then the coaxial cable, fiberoptic cable, twisted pair, DSL, or wireless technologies such asinfrared, radio, and microwave are included in the definition of medium.Disk and disc, as used herein, includes compact disc (CD), laser disc,optical disc, digital versatile disc (DVD), floppy disk and blu-ray discwhere disks usually reproduce data magnetically, while discs reproducedata optically with lasers. Combinations of the above should also beincluded within the scope of computer-readable media. It should beappreciated that a computer-readable medium may be implemented in anysuitable computer-program product.

The previous description of the disclosed aspects is provided to enableany person skilled in the art to make or use the present disclosure.Various modifications to these aspects will be readily apparent to thoseskilled in the art, and the generic principles defined herein may beapplied to other aspects without departing from the scope of thedisclosure. Thus, the present disclosure is not intended to be limitedto the aspects shown herein but is to be accorded the widest scopeconsistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.

1. A method of communication, comprising: receiving a first handovermessage requesting handover of an access terminal to a cell; determiningwhether the access terminal is a member of a subscriber group associatedwith the cell, wherein the determination is based on a subscriber grouplist associated with the access terminal; and sending a second handovermessage to the cell, wherein the second handover message comprises anindication of whether the access terminal is a member of the subscribergroup.
 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining anidentifier of the subscriber group, wherein the determination of whetherthe access terminal is a member of the subscriber group comprisesdetermining whether the subscriber group list includes the subscribergroup identifier.
 3. The method of claim 2, wherein the determination ofthe subscriber group identifier comprises receiving the subscriber groupidentifier in the first handover message.
 4. The method of claim 2,wherein the determination of the subscriber group identifier comprisesreceiving the subscriber group identifier from the cell.
 5. The methodof claim 2, wherein the second handover message includes the subscribergroup identifier.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein the first handovermessage is received from an access point.
 7. The method of claim 1,further comprising: determining an access mode of the cell; anddetermining whether to include the indication in the message based onthe access mode.
 8. The method of claim 7, wherein the access modeindicates whether the cell is a hybrid cell that provides a differentlevel of service for member access terminals than is provided fornon-member access terminals.
 9. The method of claim 7, wherein thedetermination of the access mode comprises receiving an indication ofthe access mode in the first handover message.
 10. The method of claim7, wherein the determination of the access mode comprises receiving anindication of the access mode from the cell.
 11. The method of claim 7,wherein the second handover message includes an indication of the accessmode.
 12. The method of claim 1, wherein: the first handover messagecomprises a handover required message; and the second handover messagecomprises a handover request message.
 13. The method of claim 1,wherein: the first handover message comprises a relocation requiredmessage; and the second handover message comprises a relocation requestmessage.
 14. The method of claim 1, wherein the determination is made ata mobility management entity.
 15. An apparatus for communication,comprising: a receiver configured to receive a first handover messagerequesting handover of an access terminal to a cell; an accesscontroller configured to determine whether the access terminal is amember of a subscriber group associated with the cell, wherein thedetermination is based on a subscriber group list associated with theaccess terminal; and a transmitter configured to send a second handovermessage to the cell, wherein the second handover message comprises anindication of whether the access terminal is a member of the subscribergroup.
 16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the access controller isfurther configured to: determine an access mode of the cell; anddetermine whether to include the indication in the message based on theaccess mode.
 17. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the access modeindicates whether the cell is a hybrid cell that provides a differentlevel of service for member access terminals than is provided fornon-member access terminals.
 18. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein thedetermination of the access mode comprises receiving an indication ofthe access mode in the first handover message.
 19. The apparatus ofclaim 16, wherein the second handover message includes an indication ofthe access mode.
 20. An apparatus for communication, comprising: meansfor receiving a first handover message requesting handover of an accessterminal to a cell; means for determining whether the access terminal isa member of a subscriber group associated with the cell, wherein thedetermination is based on a subscriber group list associated with theaccess terminal; and means for sending a second handover message to thecell, wherein the second handover message comprises an indication ofwhether the access terminal is a member of the subscriber group.
 21. Theapparatus of claim 20, further comprising: means for determining anaccess mode of the cell; and means for determining whether to includethe indication in the message based on the access mode.
 22. Theapparatus of claim 21, wherein the access mode indicates whether thecell is a hybrid cell that provides a different level of service formember access terminals than is provided for non-member accessterminals.
 23. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein the determination ofthe access mode comprises receiving an indication of the access mode inthe first handover message.
 24. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein thesecond handover message includes an indication of the access mode.
 25. Acomputer-program product, comprising: computer-readable mediumcomprising code for causing a computer to: receive a first handovermessage requesting handover of an access terminal to a cell; determinewhether the access terminal is a member of a subscriber group associatedwith the cell, wherein the determination is based on a subscriber grouplist associated with the access terminal; and send a second handovermessage to the cell, wherein the second handover message comprises anindication of whether the access terminal is a member of the subscribergroup.
 26. The computer-program product of claim 25, wherein thecomputer-readable medium further comprises code for causing the computerto: determine an access mode of the cell; and determine whether toinclude the indication in the message based on the access mode.
 27. Thecomputer-program product of claim 26, wherein the access mode indicateswhether the cell is a hybrid cell that provides a different level ofservice for member access terminals than is provided for non-memberaccess terminals.
 28. The computer-program product of claim 26, whereinthe determination of the access mode comprises receiving an indicationof the access mode in the first handover message.
 29. Thecomputer-program product of claim 26, wherein the second handovermessage includes an indication of the access mode.
 30. A method ofcommunication, comprising: determining an access mode of a cell; andsending a message to initiate handover of an access terminal to thecell, wherein the message comprises an indication of the access mode.31. The method of claim 30, wherein the access mode indicates whetherthe cell is a hybrid cell that provides a different level of service formember access terminals than is provided for non-member accessterminals.
 32. The method of claim 30, wherein the determination of theaccess mode comprises receiving an indication of the access mode fromthe access terminal
 33. The method of claim 30, wherein thedetermination of the access mode comprises determining the access modebased on a physical cell identifier of the cell.
 34. The method of claim30, wherein the determination of the access mode comprises determiningthe access mode based on a cell global identifier of the cell.
 35. Themethod of claim 30, wherein the determination of the access modecomprises obtaining an indication of the access mode via at least one ofthe group consisting of: neighbor relations, configuration by anoperations, administration, and maintenance network entity, and directtransfer.
 36. The method of claim 30, further comprising determining asubscriber group identifier associated with the cell, wherein themessage further comprises the subscriber group identifier.
 37. Themethod of claim 36, wherein the determination of the subscriber groupidentifier comprises receiving the subscriber group identifier from theaccess terminal.
 38. The method of claim 36, wherein the determinationof the subscriber group identifier comprises obtaining the subscribergroup identifier via at least one of the group consisting of: neighborrelations, configuration by an operations, administration, andmaintenance network entity, and direct transfer.
 39. The method of claim30, wherein the message comprises a handover required message.
 40. Themethod of claim 30, wherein the message comprises a relocation requiredmessage.
 41. The method of claim 30, wherein the message is sent by anaccess point.
 42. An apparatus for communication, comprising: an accesscontroller configured to determine an access mode of a cell; and atransmitter configured to send a message to initiate handover of anaccess terminal to the cell, wherein the message comprises an indicationof the access mode.
 43. The apparatus of claim 42, wherein the accessmode indicates whether the cell is a hybrid cell that provides adifferent level of service for member access terminals than is providedfor non-member access terminals.
 44. The apparatus of claim 42, whereinthe determination of the access mode comprises receiving an indicationof the access mode from the access terminal.
 45. The apparatus of claim42, wherein: the access controller is further configured to determine asubscriber group identifier associated with the cell; and the messagefurther comprises the subscriber group identifier.
 46. The apparatus ofclaim 45, wherein the determination of the subscriber group identifiercomprises receiving the subscriber group identifier from the accessterminal.
 47. An apparatus for communication, comprising: means fordetermining an access mode of a cell; and means for sending a message toinitiate handover of an access terminal to the cell, wherein the messagecomprises an indication of the access mode.
 48. The apparatus of claim47, wherein the access mode indicates whether the cell is a hybrid cellthat provides a different level of service for member access terminalsthan is provided for non-member access terminals.
 49. The apparatus ofclaim 47, wherein the determination of the access mode comprisesreceiving an indication of the access mode from the access terminal. 50.The apparatus of claim 47, further comprising means for determining asubscriber group identifier associated with the cell, wherein themessage further comprises the subscriber group identifier.
 51. Theapparatus of claim 50, wherein the determination of the subscriber groupidentifier comprises receiving the subscriber group identifier from theaccess terminal.
 52. A computer-program product, comprising:computer-readable medium comprising code for causing a computer to:determine an access mode of a cell; and send a message to initiatehandover of an access terminal to the cell, wherein the messagecomprises an indication of the access mode.
 53. The computer-programproduct of claim 52, wherein the access mode indicates whether the cellis a hybrid cell that provides a different level of service for memberaccess terminals than is provided for non-member access terminals. 54.The computer-program product of claim 52, wherein the determination ofthe access mode comprises receiving an indication of the access modefrom the access terminal.
 55. The computer-program product of claim 52,wherein: the computer-readable medium further comprises code for causingthe computer to determine a subscriber group identifier associated withthe cell; and the message further comprises the subscriber groupidentifier.
 56. The computer-program product of claim 55, wherein thedetermination of the subscriber group identifier comprises receiving thesubscriber group identifier from the access terminal.